5 Very Expensive Hobbies

Whether it’s occasional app gaming, scrapbook making or coupon clipping, just about everyone has a hobby. Not only do these pastimes provide a pleasurable diversion to occupy your time, but they reflect your personality and your interests. As an activity you do in the pursuit of leisure, hobbies are generally not things you perform as business ventures or as occupations (although sometimes, a hobby can turn into a career) — they are for your entertainment. Along with this enjoyment, however, comes a monetary cost.

Some hobbies, such as biking, involve a large start-up cost and little in the form of maintenance costs. You purchase a bike, helmet, pads, water bottle, repair kit, and maybe a pump at the outset. Along the way, you may decide to go out and buy a few additional accessories, but the majority of your costs are upfront. Other hobbies, such as model building, involve ongoing costs for the continual purchase of materials and supplies. You need to maintain a stock of wood, paint, brushes, nails, and glue, for instance.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates our spending on entertainment items like hobbies to be around $630 per year, which equates to around $53 per month. Many of the most expensive hobbies can cost thousands of dollars and involve both large upfront costs and regular maintenance costs. Of course, hobbies like yachting and flying on a private jet are particularly expensive, but such hobbies are generally reserved for those who earn a lavish income. This list of expensive hobbies contains those types of activities the average person may choose to partake in.

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1. Gaming

Depending on the degree to which you devote time and resources to this hobby, the cost of PC gaming can range from a few hundred dollars for an initial investment to upwards of $13,000 (for the Yoyotech XDNA Aurum 24K) for a gaming PC alone. In addition to an initial investment for a gaming rig, you also have costs associated with maintaining and upgrading your PC, custom accessories, membership fees, and costs for games. A big hit release game in new condition costs around $60.

If console gaming is more your style, you’re still looking at a pretty large upfront expense, with a the cost of a newer console running anywhere between $200 (for a PS3 or XBox 360) to in excess of $400 (for a PS4). You also face costs similar to those PC gamers face, like membership fees, which can place around a $10 to $20 per month dent in your wallet, as well as accessories like new controllers, which cost around $40 each.